John Madigan's Blog

29 things I've learned in 29 years

I'm turning 29 this year. It's been a good ride thus far. Here are a few things from both observation and experience I've learned in my ripe old age of 29:

(1) Good sleep, food, exercise, water are vital to a productive day.

(2) Everything in moderation is a good philosophy - especially with respect to food/drinks.

(3) Exercise has more than just physical benefits. Exercise influences your emotional health, happiness, and overall sense of well being.

(4) Not worrying about what others think is the best way to live. It's also incredibly difficult in your teens and 20's to not be influenced by your peers.

(5) Surrounding yourself with people you admire/respect is much more important than whoever will go out and party/drink with you.

(6) Buying someone lunch is one of the most powerful networking tactics you can use. Do it often. 

(7) To get to know someone, take a long car ride or travel with them. You'll get to know a completely different side of them and develop a much more intense connection.

(8) Meeting someone of quality in a bar/club is unlikely. Although quality people go to bars/clubs, they aren't looking for their mate. Rather, meeting someone through a friend is a much wiser strategy.

(9) Find a means of creating passive income for yourself. Whether this is via investing, an online biz, or some other means, it's crucial to find a way to get paid even when you're not there.

(10) Read, read and read.

(11) It takes time to really get to know yourself.

(12) Don't get married until you're ready. There's no reason to do it too soon.

(13) Being in a relationship because you are lonely is almost always the wrong reason.

(14) Friendship before romance can increase the likelihood of a relationship's success.

(15) Experts write. Start writing.

(16) Public speaking isn't as scary as you may think. We are conditioned to think there is something frightening about communicating to a group of people. There isn't. 

(17) Treat others how you want to be treated. Be nice.

(18) Laugh - life is too short not to laugh.

(19) Push yourself. Try things you wouldn't normally do. Go outside your own comfort zone.

(20) Invest as early as possible. Save and invest. Save and invest.

(21) Spend less than you earn. 

(22) Avoid debt, including student loan debt (if you can).

(23) Higher education is useful, but comes at a great cost (unless someone else is paying for it for you). If your parents or family will pay for it, do it. If you are paying for it yourself, realize that you will be forced to pay back huge tuition costs for probably years to come.

(24) Do something you enjoy. Working in a place/job/environment that doesn't fit who you are will do strange things to you physically and emotionally. The sooner you recognize when something isn't the right fit and make a change, the better.

(25) Give people the benefit of the doubt. If someone burns you, learn from it. But don't become jaded because of one bad apple.

(26) Find a way to create more quietness (some call it "consciousness") in your life - whether you are spiritual or not, finding quiet time is imperative. 

(27) Family and friends are what makes life great. Tell them so.

(28) Money is a tool you can use, not the other way around.

(29) There is always more to learn. Anyone who claims to know it all doesn't know how little they actually know.

Getting out of your own way

is sometimes the best way foreward.

Maybe you are trying to micromanage your work, your life, or your relationships. Or maybe you keep throwing obstacles/complications into your projects in the name of perfection or completeness. Or maybe you think that you're the only one who does things "right".

But what if the problem isn't them, it's you?

I know I try and control my work/life situation such that sometimes I don't even realize that I'm complicating things more than helping them. I'm so involved in my projects, work, and relationships that it makes it difficult to take a step back and see the birds-eye view. 

So next time you catch yourself trying to control everything about a situation/person, maybe you should take a deep breath and just let things happen naturally. Sounds crazy, but it just might work.

The 80/20 Principle

I picked up a copy of The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch a few days ago from the Santa Monica Public Library (my home away from home). 

For the minority of folks who haven't heard of the 80/20 principle, it asserts that "a minority of causes, inputs, or efforts usually lead to a majority of the results, outputs, or rewards...for example, 80 percent of what you achieve in your job comes from 20 percent of the time spent."

The most obvious (and profound) insight that I took from the book was simply to identify the 20% (of time, activities, etc.) that yield 80% of the results. When you know what your high and low value activities are, you can start replicating and/or multiplying the high value activities. It seems quite simple, yet so often it's easier to be "busy" instead of evaluating whether something is a high or low value activity.

In my role as the Membership Manager at the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, I'm responsible for recruiting and retaining Chamber members. With respect to recruiting, the highest value activity is face time with a prospective member (and also phone and email communication in descending order). For retaining members, face time also plays an important role, but also, consistently communicating and fulfilling the benefits of membership offered by the Chamber.

Applying the 80/20 principle, I would focus my recruiting efforts on increasing the amount of face time I spend with prospective members. Similarly, I would increase my communications to current members about how to take advantage of the benefits of membership.

What about you? How could identifying your high value (20%) activities help you in your work life and/or career?

Dr. Wayne Dyer

On Sunday I watched Dr. Wayne Dyer perform live at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Dr. Dyer is an internationally recognized author and speaker on personal development.  

Here are a few of the kernels of wisdom I picked up during his talk:  

• Attitude is everything, so pick a good one
• Circumstances don't make the man/woman, they reveal it
• Excuses are misalignment's
• Your greatest gift is the gift of your imagination
• You must become what you want to be before it shows up in your life
• Assume the feeling of the wish you want to be fulfilled
• Focus on what you want during the last five minutes of your day (before you go to sleep and slip into your subconscious mind)

Dr. Dyer also recommended the following books during his talk:

• The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton
• Virus of the Mind by Richard Brodie

I haven't read either of these titles, but will be picking them up from my local library in the near future.

How to Effectively Manage Expectations

Tonight was the tenth "Start-ups Uncensored" town hall hosted by Jason Nazar, CEO and co-founder of Docstoc.com. The talk focused on legal issues facing entrepreneurs and included guests John Suh, CEO of LegalZoom, and David Young, partner at DLA Piper. 

A concern that kept surfacing throughout the talk was the (sometimes exorbitant) size of legal fees. How does an entrepreneur who is boot-strapping his/her new business afford the services of a lawyer who charges $400/hr and has every incentive to maximize billable hours?

The simple answer - by managing expectations.

Managing expectations is a simple, yet powerful solution. When you hire a lawyer, enter a business relationship, or even a personal relationship, both parties have certain expectations. They hope to gain something from the relationship.  

Unfortunately, instead of communicating the specifics of the relationship desired, many people "hope" that the other party acts according to their wishes. As a result, the expectations of each party are neither known nor valued.

A better method, espoused by all participants in the talk tonight, is to err on the side of too much communication. Spell out everything you are looking for, the terms of the agreement, the circumstances of your relationship, and/or what you are hoping to gain. 

For example, suppose you need to hire a lawyer. Take the time to thoroughly explain the issue you need help resolving, ask the lawyer his/her hourly rate, and how many hours it will take to complete. Then, agree upon a certain quota of hours the lawyer will work and explain that before the lawyer exceeds the agreed upon quota of hours, he/she will check with you. 

By taking the somewhat uncomfortable steps of spelling out the expectations in the relationship, you minimize the probability of a misunderstanding after the fact. 

You Only Live Once

A couple of people said to me recently, "you only live once, ya know?"

Oddly enough, the context was almost exclusively negative. The person saying it was justifying a bad decision. I found this strange. If you believe that you only live once, then why use that as an opportunity to make negative/destructive decisions?

Shouldn't you be using this gift of limited time as a catalyst to pursue your goals, dreams, and ambitions? 

If time really is our most precious resource, then surely we should spend it in the most productive & positive way possible.

Negativity and New Ventures

How many times have you or your friends talked about starting a new business? And how many of those ideas/dreams/visions have been turned into a reality?

I have found that approximately 1% of new biz ideas my friends have proposed have actually been turned into a reality. The remarkable entrepreneurs behind these ideas have found a way to push past the haters, the nay-sayers, and the inevitable static that accompanies new ideas, plans, and dreams.

The other 99% of ideas die a silent death. The ideas are typically pitched and killed in the same breath. Almost like target practice for the mind. And it seems as if most people are more eager to shoot down the ideas than nurture them. Why is this? How do you prevent such negativity from killing your ideas?

In Loving What Is, Byron Katie describes a process she developed called The Work. It is a series of four questions that helps you challenge/question/inquire as to the veracity of your beliefs. I found the first two questions of The Work to be particularly helpful when trying to overcome negative thoughts about new business ventures, namely:

1. Is it true?  
2. Can you absolutely know that it's true?  

For example, maybe your friend told you your new business idea is no good. Is this true? Maybe. But can you absolutely know that it's true? No. In reality, you have no clue as to how good/bad your new biz idea is until it's tested it in the marketplace.

By inquiring/challenging/questioning the absolute truth of negative thoughts/beliefs, you can begin to unravel them and expose their irrationality.

So next time someone tries to shoot down your ideas, think about these two questions, and maybe they'll help you push past the negativity.

  

Burn Your Bridges

Conventional wisdom says not to burn your bridges. But in some cases, bridge burning might be exactly what you need. 

In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill tells the story of a military commander who sailed across the ocean with this troops to fight a battle. Once they reached the location of the battle, the commander set his own ships ablaze. His troops watched the ships burn. This left two options for the troops in the impending battle - win or perish.  

The wisdom in this story is oft-repeated. My favorite version is, "failure is not an option." And surely when you stake your entire livelihood on the achievement of a specific outcome, the likelihood of success dramatically increases.

For example, how many immigrants have come to the United States with nothing but the clothes on their back to eventually build thriving businesses? 

If I were betting on the future success of two people (or picking a job candidate among a pool of applicants), I would look for someone who attacks and achieves his/her goals as if their life depended on it.

7 Great Personal Development Authors

Here are seven of my favorite personal development authors:

• Eckhart Tolle  
• Tony Robbins  
• Brian Tracy  
• Stephen Covey 
• Marcus Buckinham 
• Steve Pavlina  
• Don Miguel Ruiz   

How to Use Jealousy to Find Your Career Path

Jealousy isn't always unproductive.

Last week a friend asked me to help him brainstorm his next career move. I asked him to write up a list of the people he is jealous of. He immediately spouted off a list of famous personalities including Tiger Woods, Steve Jobs, Al Gore, Oprah, etc. 

Then I asked him if he is jealous of what they have or what they do. He paused. It's a simple but important distinction. Many people are jealous of Tiger Woods because of his fame, wealth, and expertise. But these are just the things that he has. 

But would you still be jealous if you knew that 7 days a week he rises at 6am, exercises for 90 minutes, and relentlessly practices his golf swing for 8 - 10 hours a day, whether he feels like it or not? 

Would you still be jealous of Al Gore if you knew that the majority of his 12 - 15 hour workdays are filled with writing, reading, and reviewing legal/political paperwork?

You get the point. What someone does everyday is much different than what they have (i.e. fame, money, power). 

Filtering the List 

Once you have created the original list of people that you are jealous of, filter out the people that you are only jealous of what they have instead of what they do everyday.

You will be left with a list of people that do something everyday that you might enjoy. From that list you a number of different career paths should emerge. 

In the case of my friend, after we filtered the list of people he originally said he was jealous of, we were left with a list of graphic designers and web programmers. It turns out that the daily activities he likes are more closely aligned with graphic design than golf and legal/political paperwork.

Who (and what daily activities) are you jealous of?